Three years ago I quit writing. Just up and stopped. The reasons I gave myself were all onion skinned veils that tried to cover up the fact that I was afraid.

I was afraid that my best writing had already been done and no one was ever going to notice. I had been as far as I could go and there was no use trying anymore.

The funny thing is, I enjoyed writing right up to the last word I wrote then. I was just afraid I’d never capture the moment again.

Now I realize that that was a foolish argument. We never truly will know when we produce our best work and we should never really care, because the act of writing IS our best work.

The fact that we grip a pen or pound a keyboard is enough of an accomplishment in it itself to warrant a arm breaking self pat on the back. If we practice writing every day, we will learn new things about ourselves. Actually, we won’t learn new things, we uncover things we have put away or hidden from ourselves.

It is in the practice where we will find our best writing. The practice of writing demands that we first spew words all over something. Scrawl raw thoughts, whether or not they are perfect in delivery, or first thought s are elegant in execution.

The point is to write like the wind, be it crap or not.  Leave your self editor on the shelf and just grind it out.  Free and unfettered words that express your thoughts. Leave the polishing for later.

When you do edit your writing, don’t see it as ugly, just remember the energy that is in it. Sure, clean up the typos and grammar, but do not discard the energy. Bottle it and show it off.

I wish I had never been afraid to step off on to the next piece. Since I’ve been back at it in the last year, I have discovered the wonderful art that is me. I have learned that each piece is different and should be held in its own light. I have learned that there is a facet of my own self being exposed in each passage.

Whatever you do, never be afraid that you’ll never top what you’ve already written and never be afraid to step off that ledge and see where the fall takes you.

Never quit writing.

© 2009, Alex Crabtree. All rights reserved.